Bound in Intrigue: Bindings and Book Covers from the Botany Libraries

Detail of a 15th-century binding

While working as a Library & Archives Assistant for the Harvard University Botany Libraries I was fortunate to conduct some research on that collection’s extraordinary rare books. Because the “libraries” once existed independently there are often multiple copies and editions of the same work, making it possible to compare the different histories of similar books. As part of an independent study on bookbindings (generously taught by Michèle Cloonan at Simmons), I collaborated on this exhibit about bookbindings in the Botany Libraries. My main contribution was the consideration of different editions of Pietro Crescenzi’s Ruralia Commoda.